Pensioner Dave Johnston has told how he spent an hour-and-a-half sweeping his street - after accusing binmen of leaving a trail of glass and paper outside his home.

The 78-year-old says Cedar Park, in Stone, is left littered with the waste when residents' recycling bins are collected every fortnight.

He says the problem did not exist until last year when Stafford Borough Council brought in private firm Veolia to carry out its waste collections.

Now Dave is refusing to put glass and shredded paper in his bin - and instead takes his rubbish to be recycled at the town's Morrisons supermarket.

Dave Johnston from Stone spent more than an hour sweeping the road after bin-men left a mess

He said: “I phoned the council to complain at the beginning of February and was told someone would come out. Then when nothing happened I phoned again. The next morning a road-sweeper came up the street but missed part of the road even though cars did not appear to be in the way. So I spent well over an hour-and-a-half sweeping the road - and I shouldn’t have to.

“One of my neighbours is in his 80s and he can’t get around easily so uses his car and when I warned him about the glass he was cautious about going out. And it’s not just the bits of glass, I’ve seen the necks of bottles before.

Dave Johnston, from Stone, swept up these pieces of glass

"I wish the council would bring back the old dustmen who used to carry a steel bin on their shoulders and tip it in the truck themselves.”

The council has apologised for any spillages.

Council spokesman Will Conaghan said: “We thank Mr Johnston for clearing this up and also bringing it to our attention.

“We apologise if any mess has been left after the bins have been collected. We try to ensure there are no spillages from the millions of collections made each year.”